A gas turbine engine generally includes a fan and a core arranged in flow communication with one another. The core of the gas turbine engine generally includes, in serial flow order, a compressor section, a combustion section, a turbine section, and an exhaust section. In operation, at least a portion of air over the fan is provided to an inlet of the core. Such portion of the air is progressively compressed by the compressor section until it reaches the combustion section. Fuel is mixed with the compressed air and burned within the combustion section to provide combustion gases. The combustion gases are routed from the combustion section through the turbine section to drive one or more turbines within the turbine section. The one or more turbines within the turbine section may be coupled to one or more compressors of the compressor section via respective shaft(s). The combustion gases are then routed through the exhaust section, e.g., to atmosphere.
It would be beneficial to be able to augment the mechanical energy provided to the fan from the core with an efficiently produced electrical power. While traditional ultra-capacitors are capable of providing a short burst of energy, they are less capable of providing a sustained amount of energy. After discharging a stored amount of energy, traditional ultra-capacitors must subsequently be recharged from an electrical source before providing additional electrical energy.
Accordingly, a system for providing electrical power to, e.g., a fan, of the gas turbine engine would be useful. More particularly, a system for providing a substantially continuous amount of electrical power to one or more components of the gas turbine engine would be particularly beneficial.